RINDGE — Bruce Kirsh, vice president and director of athletics at Franklin Pierce University, plans to step away from his responsibilities as vice president of the University as of June 30.

After giving his talents to the university for the past 40 years, Kirsh has planned to retire, but was encouraged to stay on by FPU President James Birge, the university said in a news release on Friday.

Kirsh agreed, but will no longer be vice president. He has filled the role since 2002.

“Bruce Kirsh is one of the finest individuals a university president can hope to have on his or her team. We've been incredibly fortunate to call him one of our own for more than 40 years and are immensely pleased that he is staying on as our athletics director,” Birge said.

Kirsh has helped the university's athletics achieve an NCAA Division II ranking, among an array of other notable accomplishments that have helped the school develop and expand, according to the release.

A Franklin Pierce graduate, Class of 1971, Kirsh was in the sixth class of graduates at Franklin Pierce.

Among the distinctions and honors he earned in athletics was being selected as one of five NAIA coaches by the U.S. State Department to conduct a series of clinics in Seychelles, Africa, in 1984, and being inducted into the Franklin Pierce Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. Kirsh guided women's basketball and men's soccer, and coached baseball, softball, golf and women's tennis for various periods over the years at the university.

He was named Assistant to the President for Administration at Franklin Pierce in 1996 and accepted the task of overseeing buildings and grounds, and recreation and facility scheduling, in addition to athletics.

Kirsh also was instrumental in the development of many of the university's athletic amenities, including Sodexo Field and the Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field, and Franklin Pierce's newest facility to open in August, The Pappas Center for Health Sciences and Athletic Training.

“When Bruce sets his mind to achieving a goal,” Birge said, “there's no stopping him. Franklin Pierce University is a better place in so many ways for the drive and vision of Bruce Kirsh.”